The countdown has begun to the Desert Solstice 24 Hour. This is my first 24 Hour race in two years, and I am very nervous. I have gotten really mental about finishing a 24 Hour – I know exactly how badly it is going to hurt. With all the drama over the past two years – Tim’s accident, relocating to LA, leaving my home, family, friends – I just haven’t had the mental strength to focus on a BIG race. I keep signing up and then backing out due to injury (or mental illness 🙂 ). Thus, my only true goal for this race is to FINISH – to run the entire 24 hours, regardless of mileage outcome. I just need to get through the entire race. Unfortunately, I picked an elite invitational to wrestle with my mental demons, but it was now or never!
Really, there will never be the “perfect” race (trust me, I’ve tried to find it), so I just had to make a commitment and train. I’m having nightmares about it, knowing how awful the last hours will be, how numbing and monotonous the continuous looping is, and how much my feet, hips and back will ache after 24 hours. But I have to finish this, for good or for bad.
So, until then, I will keep training – running, running, running – and trying to keep my fear in check!
Happy Running!
Mom, ultrarunner, four-time US 24 Hour National Team member, adventure athlete, food writer. Graduate of the Pro Cooking Program at the New School of Cooking, Los Angeles. Will run for food.
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It’s a hell of a goal, and I want to wish you best in tackling it to the end. Now – run, for yourself, and some for me!
Thanks, Olga! Why do we do this to ourselves? 🙂
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